I stare at Kaja in horror. I had imagined her falling, hurting herself, lying in a hospital with a fractured leg, even a concussion, but never this.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do. They called her by name and she went with them willingly so I couldn’t even call the police, but they were big and had dangerous eyes.”
“How long ago was this?” I demand
She glances at her wristwatch. “Exactly … twenty-seven minutes ago.”
“Can you describe them?”
“Yes,” she says, and immediately starts describing them in astonishing detail. “Both of them were wearing black leather jackets and very shiny black shoes. One was wearing blue jeans with a white shirt. He had a short, red beard, small pale blue eyes, a broken nose, and his hair was cut close to his head. He was big, even bigger than you and thick around the middle. The other one had black hair, black eyes, a scar here,” her hand points to the apple of her right cheek, “and he was clean shaven. He was wearing a dark blue shirt and black jeans. He was shorter and narrower.”
“Do you know which way they went?”
“That way.” She immediately points in the opposite direction I had come from.
I look in the direction she pointed not really expecting to see anything, but I see the type of plastic bags that Kaja uses in her shop caught between the black metal cover and the bin inside. It is fluttering in the wind like a flag. Even from where I am standing I can tell that there’s still something inside it. I dash over to it and yank it.
There is a bar of dark chocolate in it.
“That’s the bar she bought,” Kaja says next to me.
I turn to look at her. Her eyes are wide and scared.
I take my phone out of my pocket and hit Sofia’s number. I close my eyes when I hear her phone ringing from inside the bin. I want to roar with fury. They took her. They just came and took her.
They fucking took my woman. My heart. Why the fuck did I not see this coming? I should have known. I should have protected her better.
Beside me Kaja speaks. “We should call the police.”
Forty-two
Sofia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_rZ9rHFwGY
I don’t feel anything.
I sit at the back of the car completely numb and detached. There is no desire in me to do anything. I don’t try to signal the drivers of other cars that I am being kidnapped. Even though my hands are not bound I don’t try to open the doors, or try to slam my shoes into the backs of Gorky’s and Bogdan’s heads.
Gorky is driving and Bogdan is smoking a cigarette. He has the window open and cold air rushes into the car. They are so relaxed because they know I will never do anything. I have been warned that if I do anything stupid Jack will suffer the consequences.
Once at a traffic light stop, a sweet kid with pigtails in the backseat of a SUV grins and waves at me. I just stare at her blankly. I watch as the smile dies on her little face and some part of me feels bad. Our car pulls away and she’s gone forever.
I guess, I always knew it was too good to last.
The holiday is over. I’m going back to Valdislav.
There is a lot of rush hour traffic on the road and it takes more than an hour to arrive at our destination. Gorky parks the car on the side of the road and we walk up the path to an end of terrace house with a walled garden. They knock on the front door and a very large, unsmiling bald man I don’t recognize opens it.
“What took you so long?” he barks.
“Traffic,” Bogdan says.
“He’s waiting for you.”
Inside it smells like every brothel I have been to. Perfume and sex. A young woman in shorts and a halter top comes out of a doorway hung with transparent blue curtains. She looks at me then immediately ducks back into the room she had exited.
Through the transparent veils I can see a living room with red couches. We don’t go into it. We take the stairs and go into an L-shaped corridor. There are five doors and they are all closed. They lead me to the farthest one. Gorky knocks and I hear the voice I prayed I’d never hear again.
Gorky opens the door and gives me a slight push.
It is a room like many I have seen before. It has a flogging cross, and the bed has metal implements attached to it. There is a cage in one corner of the room. Yes, I have been in such a room many times before.
He is standing by the window smoking a cigarette. The window is open and soft breezes are blowing in, making the curtains billow. He turns his face and looks at me.
He looks exactly the same. His hair is full of gel and his eyes are dark and hot and cruel, but I’m not afraid. I will never be afraid again. Someone truly loves me. I stare at him blankly. Whatever you do to my body, you will never be able to take that away, because he taught me that. I am more than anything you do to my body.
All the things you did to my body, and yet you could never ruin me. Never. I was beautiful to Jack.
“Hello, Sofia,” he drawls. His voice is like sandpaper.
I say nothing.
“Go,” he tells the men.
They close the door. The dark brown carpet swallows their footsteps.
“You look well,” he notes.
I don’t reply.
“Have you missed me?” he asks.
I shake my head.
He raises an eyebrow. “Not even a tiny bit?”
I shake my head again.
His mouth twists, half sarcastic, half self-deprecating. I’ve never seen him like this. He was always so brutal and unforgiving. The least mistake and … I shiver.
“Well,” he confesses. “I missed you. A lot. I should never have sold you. It was a mistake. You’re mine.”
Automatically my head shakes. I don’t belong to him. I never did. I belong to Jack and only Jack.
Anger flashes in his eyes. “Take your clothes off,” he orders harshly.
I stare at him.
“I said take your fucking clothes off,” he screams, and I jump with an old fear. Something inside me clicks into place. Jack is no longer here to protect me. My chest becomes a nest and memories fly in to roost like blackbirds. The hidden past comes back to life. How could I have forgotten?
Cowering between his legs. Choking on his dick. Tears streaming down my face. All while he holds my nose and spits on me. My eyes popping. My lungs bursting. Fainting on the cold floor of his bedroom. Then being kicked into consciousness.
Bravery is for the inexperienced. A baby will crawl curiously towards a brightly colored snake, or try to catch an open flame because it doesn’t understand the danger.
I have suffered the poison and experienced the burn.
My eyes dart to his free hand. It is relaxed and tapping against his thigh. Slowly, I lift my hands up. They feel so heavy. I take my coat off and let it drop to the floor. I take off my silly purple hat, my baggy sweater, my T-shirt, my shoes, my black jeans, and the new underwear that I had planned to surprise Jack with. The cold air from the window makes my skin prickle with goose bumps.
He sucks at his cigarette and lets his eyes rove over my body greedily. When he exhales, smoke veils his eyes.
“You were living with a man?”
I nod.
“Don’t act like a fool, Sofia. Speak up,” he orders, barely holding onto his irritation.
I flinch. It’s so cold I have started shivering. I clench my teeth to keep them from chattering. “How did you find me?” I ask.
His mouth curves cruelly. “Little fool. You attended a Bratva wedding. Someone recognized my whore all dressed up like royalty.” He flicks his cigarette butt out of the open window and turns to face me. “Haven’t I told you before, you’re not a normal woman, sweet Sofia? You’re a whore. A prostitute. Your lot in life is not to marry and have kids and get fat. Your lot is to pleasure men. Lots of men … while I watch.”
I shake my head. “No. No, I’m not a whore.”
His eyes narrow and his voice is taunting. “You didn’t t
ell him what you were, did you?”
“He knows,” I say defensively.
He laughs a maniacal sound that seems to echo around us. “Then you won’t mind that he’ll be getting a naughty little surprise in his post box tomorrow? Hmmm.”
My body becomes rigid with horror. “No. Please. Don’t. Please,” I beg.
“What’s the matter, my little whore? Don’t you want him to see how talented you are? How many cocks you can service at the same time. It’s been so long even I have forgotten. How many, Sofia?”
“Please don’t. Please.”
“If you don’t do exactly what I want he will get the videos. I’m feeling generous so I might even give him a box set.”
“I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Good. Now answer me. How many men can you service at the same time?”
“Five,” I cry. “Five.”
“He doesn’t know that, does he?”